How do you solve a problem like England?

Arrivederci Fabio: Capello and Bernstein's showdown talks ended in a handshake and farewell

Fabio Capello sensationally resigned as England manager yesterday just 121 days before the European Championships get underway in Poland and the Ukraine.

Four months before the first ball is kicked, England are without a manager, and a captain.

Many have tried and failed in the hot seat. Capello’s reign will ultimately be remembered for the shambles at the World Cup two years ago, where England succumbed to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Germany.

But Capello isn’t the problem. Nor McClaren, Eriksson, Keegan or Hoddle.

England’s record in major tournaments since they lifted the Jules Rimet trophy in 1966 has been far from stellar. Semi-final appearances at Italia ‘90 and Euro ‘96 the best they have managed.

The fact England has arguably the best league in the world is more to do with foreign imports since the inception of the Premier League, Sky’s money, and the fact England is a swell place to live (despite the recent arctic temperatures).

England currently lie fifth in the FIFA world rankings, but their record against the cream of world football defies such lofty status.

In the last two years, England under Capello have faced Spain, Holland, Germany, Brazil and France.

A 2-2 friendly draw with Holland in August 2009 was followed by a 1-0 defeat in Qatar at the hands of Brazil that November.

The thrashing to Germany followed, while a 2-1 reverse to France at Wembley in November 2010 didn’t inspire confidence in the national side.

The one anomaly to these set of results is of course the 1-0 victory over Spain last autumn. That, paired with a comfortable victory by the same scoreline to Sweden a few days later, was supposed to propel England towards to Euros this summer.

However, true to form, circumstance and ill-decision have derailed this momentum.

The points is, England have flattered to deceive for almost five decades, and despite a wealth of managerial talent to pass through the revolving doors at Soho Square, few have come close to replicating Sir Alf Ramsay’s feat.

The archaic structure that is the FA is at the root of the national side’s problems.

Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan tweeted to say he thought the FA Committee was ‘old school’. Despite his lack of affiliation to the sport, he was not wrong.

It is chock-a-block of old bigwigs who need a kick into the 21^st Century. Not enough time and effort is spent on grassroots, and the much-delayed home for England’s future stars, St George’s Park, is long overdue.

The academy in Burton won’t be ready until August. Just in time for a new manager one could argue. But too late for a generation that would have benefitted from similar tuition seen at Clairefontaine, a football centre famed for providing the platform for France's onslaught towards World Cup glory in 1998 and Euro 2000 success.

In many ways, the latest chapter in England’s helter-skelter history encapsulates how the FA has always operated: by dilly-dallying and missing the boat.

The debacle that set the wheels in motion for Capello’s resignation, the allegations made against John Terry, should have been cleaned up by now.

The incident involving Anton Ferdinand took place at Loftus Road on October 23. Over three months ago.

Terry’s behaviour both on and off the pitch over the past two years has not been in keeping with that of national team captain. The trial is scheduled for July 9, eight days after the Euro 2012 final. Therefore, there is no question he was rightly deposed last week.

But why has it taken this long?

Furthermore, after Capello’s words to Italy's state broadcaster RAI, where he totally disagreed with FA chairman David Bernstein's decision to strip Terry of the captaincy, three days elapsed before he was summoned to a meeting.

Bernstein was not bold enough to dismiss a man who openly rebelled against an organisation who paid him a reported £6m annual salary. It gave Capello time to assess his options, leaving the FA with egg on their face once more.

St George’s Park, Terry, Capello. A pattern is beginning to emerge.

There is no firm leadership at the FA and, as Martin Samuel argued in today’s Mail, Capello quit over a basic point of principle - that the football man does the football. And when this is taken away, he walks away.

You do wonder what Harry Redknapp is potentially letting himself in for.

Would the FA have stood by their man in the same way Tottenham have in recent weeks?

So, how do you solve a problem like England?

Recent events have cast serious aspersions on how the FA is run, but it is not the only concern.

Capello was supremely qualified for the role: Seven Seria A titles, four Italian Cups, two La Ligas, one Champions League and a Super Cup in a managerial career spanning 21 years. Add to this a win percentage of 66.67 with England.

One could even argue his three-and-a-half year tenure with the national side was a relative success.

Barring the humiliating exit at the hands of Germany, where there were no mitigating circumstances (Matthew Upson perhaps one), his record in qualification was exemplary, and a fresh, exuberant England team was beginning to blossom this qualifying campaign.

Capello ultimately struggled to assert his authority on the England side

Capello, in my opinion, walks away from this with his dignity intact as he proves he is not merely a puppet.

His club record puts Redknapp to shame, so there’s nothing to suggest two years down the line after a World Cup in Brazil, we won’t be returning to the same old issues as to where the problems lie.

Redknapp may be the people’s choice, but it doesn’t solve the crux of the problem: the FA.

It is too easy to say, ‘see how Spain do it, let’s follow them’.

What works for one, doesn’t necessarily work for the other. What is clear though, is that a change in approach, organisation and delivery is needed from the FA.

Keri-Anne: the first of many

Swimmer Keri-Anne Payne cemented her place in London 2012 last week when she won gold in the 10k open water event at the World Championships in Shanghai.

Despite having to deal with flying limbs, scorching temperatures peaking at over 30c, Keri-Anne ploughed her way through to become the first of 550 athletes to represent the UK next summer.

Making a splash: Keri-Anne is bucking the GB trend ahead of 2012 

Keri-Anne is regarded by many to be the poster girl of British swimming - and with good reason.

But what do we know of our young Olympian?

She was born in Johannesburg, moving to Britain at 13 when her parents decided to return home.

Now settled in Stockport, the 23-year old is engaged to long-term boyfriend David Carry - a fellow swimmer.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Keri-Anne won silver in the inaugural 10k race, while a year later, she grabbed her first world championship gold in Rome.

Add to this last week's success, and the 23 year old's achievements to date are staggering.

The wave she is riding at the minute shows no sign of abating. In October she travels to Delhi for the Commonwealth Games. Here she will look to conquer the 200m and 400m indoor races, a far cry from her long-distance endurance tests.

And with Keri-Anne already the English record holder for the 200m and 400m individual medley, she has already demonstrated she is able to juggle the severe differences between endurance swimming and the sprints.

Many top athletes have already withdrawn from Delhi. World heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis and her British rival Kelly Sotherton are out, while the world's fastest man, Usain Bolt, is yet to decide.

Bucking the trend is commendable, but it awaits to be seen whether Keri-Anne has made the correct decision, as burn-out is a possibility with the countdown to London well under way.

But it would be wrong to question the decision making of a born winner, an athlete who knows how far they can push their body, in a career that has so far yielded so much.

With less than a year until the greatest sporting event arrives on our doorstep, 2012 promises to be a massive year for British sport and Kerri-Anne is all set to play her part.

Two wrongs don’t make a right



Iniesta thought he was picking up a one-way ticket to the Bernabeu

UEFA today revealed they are considering banning Andres Iniesta, Barcelona’s midfield maestro, for a further game in this season’s Champions League.

Iniesta picked up a caution for failing to retreat the required distance at a free-kick during the quarter-final first leg against Shakhtar Donetsk, triggering a one-game ban which saw him sit out the second leg in the Ukraine.

Every cloud has a silver lining, and for Iniesta it meant he could return with a clean slate for the semi-final first leg, which turns out to be against El Classico rivals Real Madrid.

The imposed sanction comes after UEFA match officials alleged Iniesta’s faux pas was deliberately incurred.

But Iniesta is only guilty of flouting an absurd rule that needs reviewing.

Article 22 of the Regulations of the Champions League 2010/11 states:

“In case of repeated cautions:

…from the first match in the group stage, a player is suspended for the next competition match after three cautions in three different matches, as well as following any subsequent odd-numbered caution (fifth, seventh, ninth, etc).”

This law is flawed.

It means a player could potentially miss the Champions League final for incurring three misery yellow cards in the ten games it takes to get to Wembley.

That hardly merits a suspension of that magnitude, does it?

Sure, if a player is a menace on the field and is a constant threat to his fellow professionals, one could argue the suspensions are serving their purpose.

But anyone who watches the bread-and-butter of our domestic game, then tunes in to watch Europe’s premier knock-out competition will tell you the referees are far more trigger-happy on the continent.

Free-kicks and yellow cards are dished out like hot cakes, just ask Duncan Ferguson how he faired with Pierluigi Collina when Everton flirted with The Champions League in 2005.

A suspension is easily acquired from three innocuous fouls.

Yes, Iniesta’s petulance merited a booking, and the footage does not look good for the gifted Spaniard as he awaits UEFA’s decision on Wednesday.

If the ban is imposed, the Spanish midfielder will sit out the crunch first leg against Real on 27 April at the Santiago Bernabeu.

But Iniesta’s infringement is understandable, considering the baffling rules that are in place.

Why should he have missed the first leg of the semi-final for acquiring three yellow cards?

It is not as if he is a constant threat on the field, in fact he is quite the opposite, and to deny a player of his quality the opportunity to showcase his talents in a game of this magnitude would be farcical to say the least.

Yes the rules are in place, but he has worked within their ludicrous nature to ensue he and his team have the best possible chance of winning a fourth European title.

If UEFA don’t like it, they should flag up their own performance and regulations. Not Iniesta’s.

Shameless!

How two ‘role models’ make this evening's clash a shameful occasion for football

Party: What could have been for Wayne had he not found stardom

An air rifle going off. A calculated forearm into the back of someone’s skull. It’s the sort of script that would not look out of place in a Guy Ritchie film.

Instead, these are the actions of two experienced England international football players and role models to millions of children worldwide.

On Saturday, Wayne Rooney helped Manchester United cruise to a 4-0 win over Wigan at the DW Stadium.

But the game will be remembered for all the wrong reasons as, eight minutes in, England’s star player charged into midfielder James McCarthy, appearing to use his forearm to get the better of his marker.

What kind of an example does this set to youngsters; those who replicate the actions of their heroes in the playground the next day?

A couple of weeks ago, Rooney scored the goal of the season when he acrobatically won United the derby game against cross-city rivals City.

The day later, kids up and down the land will have attempted to replicate this act of virtuosity.

But will this mean this time they will be smashing into their pals in order to get a shot on goal?

Rooney’s prodigious talents were born on the streets of Croxteth, Liverpool, where he grew up. Yes he has produced some breathtaking moments in his short career, but this latest indiscretion makes him more street-brawler then street-baller.

Rooney’s United will come up against Chelsea tonight, who have a less-than-squeaky clean player on their books also.

Ashley Cole’s latest faux pas has seen him not only take a firearm into Chelsea’s training base in Cobham but, apparently against his better judgement, fire it at a 21-year-old work experience student.

Ashley Cole: shooting himself in the foot once again

What kind of a work place has Roman Abramovich created at Chelsea that a 30-year-old, 87-capped international footballer feels it ok to bring an air rifle into work with him?

Both players should know better, but repeatedly seem to take advantage of the privileged positions they have found themselves in.

The two have continuously flouted the lifestyles many would love to swap, but yet they constantly keep finding themselves at the mercy of their clubs, who persist in supporting them through thick and thin.

Cole’s manager Carlo Anchelotti said: “What do we have to do now? Kill him? No. We have to support him. It would be very different had he not said sorry.

“We are not happy because he stepped over the line, but we have to support him.”

On the work-expo, Anchelotti said: “We’re really disappointed for the guy who was a victim in this.”

Hardly an apology, Carlo.

But when will these two learn? 

This was the perfect opportunity for both the FA and their clubs to throw the book at them.

Rooney and Cole should be facing lengthily suspensions, starting at Stamford Bridge tonight.

No player likes to miss the big games, and if the FA had made an example of them, perhaps it would have gone a long way in curbing their mischievous streaks.

Graham Poll, a former Premier League and World Cup referee, has argued once referee Mark Clattenburg (surprise, surprise) dealt with the Rooney incident on the field and indicated he did as much in his post-match report, there was very little the FA could do retrospectively.

Yes we all want to see the best players playing on the biggest stage, and no doubt this may have played on the minds’ of the FA bigwigs who ran the rule over the collision.

But at what cost? McCarthy could still be in intensive care or permanently handicapped from the assault. While the 21-year-old who was a victim of Cole's stupidity could have seen his life turned upside down, if not taken away from him.

Neither have had to face up to past indiscretions - Cole losing wife Cheryl the only anomaly to this rule - so expect further misdemeanours down the line.

Instead, it appears the worst Rooney will face is a hotter reception than usual from the Chelsea fans, while Cole will face disciplinary measures internally from his club, which will ‘remain in-house’, according to Anchelotti.

Tonight they line up on opposition teams as Chelsea and United go head to head in a crunch game in the race for the Premier League.

But in truth, they both represent a thug culture that, I’m afraid to say, makes it a shameful evening to be a football fan.

Why Keys and Gray should face the music

Spec-tacular O-G: Gray and Keys face an anxious wait over their future

Richard Keys and Andy Gray made the front pages this week for sexist remarks made towards a female assistant referee.

The commentators, who believed their mics were turned off, questioned whether Sian Massey knew the offside rule during the Wolves v Liverpool game on Saturday.

Today the repercussions were felt, as Sky suspended the pair from presenting tonight’s Monday Night Football.

Their words are sickening, bigoted and wrong, but are they surprising?

Only last week, I was having lunch with a friend of mine who works for Sky, and he revealed Keys was a sexist git who was living in the stone-age.

And that is where the pair of them belong.

As much as it pains me to say, as for many years I have been a massive fan of Sky’s coverage – in particular Keys and Gray’s input – the pair must walk or be shown the door.

In the current age we live in, such comments are unacceptable and an example must be made of them.

Should the fact the pair are stalwarts of Sky Sports, Keys has been associated with the channel since 1990, mean an apology suffices?

And should the fact comments made by Sepp Blatter, President of FIFA, in which he suggested in 2004 female footballers should wear tighter shorts and low-cut shirts to attract more male fans, make such comments more acceptable?

The answer is of course not.

If the pair worked towards the bottom end of the Sky ladder and made such slurs, obviously the ripples would not be as significant, but a zero-tolerance policy would be in place and they would be shown the door.

The same must be applied for these two dinosaurs.

Can you image what kind of message it sends out to young football fans should the pair be reinstated following suspension?

I don’t have the figures, but there must be tens of thousands of kids who watch Sky’s coverage and take in their analysis and views.

Condoning the remarks by re-instating them would certainly be the wrong message, and Sky have a moral duty to terminate their contracts should they not walk.

Karen Brady was also targeted by Keys, and she was damning towards the pair today.

She told BBC Radio 5 Live: “It never would have occurred to me that they had those views whether public or private and I'm disappointed.

“It almost makes it worse that they're speaking when the microphones are not on as opposed to when they are on because they'd never really have the brass neck to say it publicly.”

Brady is known as the first lady of football since becoming managing director at Birmingham City in 1993 at just 23 years old, and is well placed to comment on the apparent sexism that exists within the game.

In a column she wrote for the Daily Mail last week, she said she had ‘experienced sexism at its rankest, lies about my personal life and a level of calculated mischief that is simply appalling’.

If this is the case, perhaps Keys’ and Gray’s comments are a mere drop in the ocean of an epidemic that needs to be uprooted, and fast.

For this to happen an example must be made, starting with this furore.

Since the mid 80s, Keys has forged a successful career in television presenting, starting with TV-am, a breakfast show on ITV.

In 1990, he became one of the presenters for The Sports Channel on British Satellite Broadcasting (BSB), before leaving ITV in December 1990 for the renamed Sky Sports.

Gray’s move into TV presenting has been a little less orthodox as, unlike Keys, he was a former professional footballer.

He won the League Cup with Aston Villa and Wolves, before success with Everton, where he won the League, FA Cup and the Cup Winners Cup in the mid 80s.

Since hanging up his boots, he has forged a successful career as both a presenter and a commentator with Sky, and this is the first real sneer he has been hit with.

Despite the two having relative success thus far, this story will end up haunting them long into 2011.

When a story such as this gathers momentum, especially in a relatively dry-news period such as this, there can only be one outcome.

Remember the Ross-Brand-Sachs scandal in the autumn of 2008? The public outcry to this was enough for Russell Brand to leave the country temporarily, for both to be suspended, and for Jonathan Ross to never quite recover his TV career.

Sky themselves have already proved they can be ruthless operators. Rodney Marsh made an ill-timed joke about the Tsunami that hit South-East Asia in January 2005.

On Gillette Soccer Saturday he quipped: “David Beckham has turned down a move to Newcastle United because of trouble with the Toon Army in Asia.”

He was promptly fired and has never worked for Sky since.

It remains to be seen who fills in for Keys and Gray tonight, but one thing is for certain, whoever it is should prepare to take over for good.

------------------------------------------

So, what was said?

Keys: “Somebody better get down there and explain offside to her.”

Gray: “Can you believe that? A female linesman. Women don’t know the offside rule.”

Keys: “Course they don’t. I can guarantee you there will be a big one today. Kenny (Liverpool manager Dalglish) will go potty. This isn’t the first time, is it? Didn’t we have one before?”

Later in the exchange…

Keys: “The game’s gone mad. Did you hear charming Karren Brady this morning complaining about sexism? Do me a favour, love.”

Gone, but not forgotten. Steven Pienaar’s finest moments in an Everton shirt

Steven Pienaar was only an Everton player for three-and-a-half years, but his legacy at the club is telling. Despite failure to win any silverwear, he was integral in taking Everton to the next level; from low-lying underachievers to a club that enjoyed European football in each of the three full seasons he spent on Merseyside. Here is a look back at some of the little magician's finer moments in royal blue.


v Arsenal

Without question the South African’s finest moment in an Everton jersey. Pickling up the ball on the halfway line, he continues unaposed before delightfully clipping the ball over the onrushing Manuel Almunia.

v Aston Villa

A wonderful curled effort from 25 yards to put Everton 3-1 up in yet another Villa-Everton epic (0:26).

v Man City

Pienaar curls in a delightful freekick (1:16) to set Everton on their way to a 2-0 triumph.

v AEK Athens

Picking up the ball 30 yards out, there is only one thing in Pienaar’s mind as he drives towards goal before rifling an unstoppable drive into the corner (0:42).

v Sporting Lisbon

A neat finish into the top corner after Tim Cahill’s audacious back-heel.

v Man Utd

In a game that will forever be remembered for the two goals Everton scored in stoppage time to level at 3-3, you could be forgiven for forgetting Pienaar put the Toffees 1-0 up in the first half. This tap in sent Goodison wild (thanks to the Gremlins at the Premier League, I can't use the footage yet).

Edwin van der Sar: "Oooaaah" Pienaar: "That's the way, aha aha"

v Middlesborough

Pienaar tenaciously wins the ball back, starting and finishing a move that resulted in his first Everton goal (1:22).

v Burnley

A goal made in Africa: Yakubu’s Ronaldinho-esque pass finds Pienaar who drives into the area before curling a left-footed effort past the Beast in the Burnley goal (2:10).

v Tottenham

Is this the reason Harry signed him up? In November 2008, Pienaar struck the decisive goal as Everton triumphed 1-0 at White Hart Lane. Found by the quick-thinking Mikel Arteta, his deflected effort dumfounded a helpless Heurelho Gomes (2:10).

v AS Larissa

Ok, so he doesn’t score this one, but Pienaar’s Cruyff-esque pass into the path of Leon Osman is poetry in motion.

Classic derby moments

It may not have escaped your attention that this weekend plays host to a number of mouth-watering derby games. In recent years, Sky’s Super (must-view-mega-grand-slam) Sunday’s have tended to put all the big games on one day and Sunday is no different, with no fewer than three derbies to wet the appetite.

Such is the importance of Spurs v Man Utd, the sub-plot to the David Beckham: will-he-won’t he sign for Harry circus, the Tyne-Wear derby has been cast aside, playing fourth fiddle in a day that also sees the Second City and Merseyside derbies.

To get us all in the mood, here are ten top derbies from bygone years.

1. Everton 4-4 Liverpool, FA Cup Fifth-round replay, 20 February 1991

Evertonians have this week joked it took two games to get rid of King Kenny last time while now it’ll only take one. The two games they refer to include this gem from Goodison, where Everton levelled the game no fewer than four times. Dalglish has been quoted in saying: “recalling the see-saw sequence of that match is distressing. Liverpool kept taking the lead but Everton kept equalising. It was like watching a car crash and not knowing which emergency service to call first.”

2. Manchester United 4-3 Manchester City, Premier League, 20 September 2009

City levelled this contest three times, and when Craig Bellamy picked Rio Ferdinand’s pocket in stoppage time to make it 3-3, surely that was it. United’s old-guard had other ideas, however, and when Ryan Giggs picked out Michael Owen with a delightful through-ball in the sixth minute of injury time, Owen rolled back the years to steal all three points for Sir Alex Ferguson’s men.

3. Arsenal 4-4 Tottenham, Premier League, 29 October 2008

This game will be remembered for a number things: David Bentley scoring an outrageous volley to open the scoring from 50 yards, Darren Bent netting for Spurs, and Aaron Lennon’s dramatic injury-time leveller. Arsenal were 4-2 up heading into the 89^th minute of Harry Redknapp’s first official game in charge, but Jermaine Jenas made it 4-3 before Lennon tapped home the rebound from Luka Modric’s effort that crashed back off the post. Cue carnage in the half-deserted away end. 

4. Everton 2-3 Liverpool, Premier League, 16 April 2001

A game that quite possibly had everything. Five goals, a sending off, 12 yellow cards, a missed penalty, a converted penalty, an Emile Heskey goal and an injury-time winner. Heskey put the Reds ahead early on, but talisman Duncan Ferguson levelled on the stroke of half time. Markus Babbel restored Liverpool’s advantage before Robbie Fowler missed a penalty, striking against the post. Everton equalised when David Unsworth typically crashed home his effort from twelve yards, but there was to be one final twist in the tail. Look out for where Gregory Vigal is tripped to where Garry McAllister takes, and scores, the free kick.

5. Chelsea 2-3 Arsenal, Premier League, 23 October 1999

“It’s Kanu, what’s he gonna do?!” shrieks Martin Tyler as the Nigerian curls in an improbable goal from the acutest of angles to score his and his side’s third goal. Tore Andre Flo and Dan Petrescu, names that will resonate with avid Merlin sticker album collectors, put Chelsea 2-0 up. But the magician had other ideas and scored a 15-minute hat-trick to steal all three points. (“Kanu believe it?” was also bellowed by Tyler in this sequence).

6. Liverpool 3-2 Everton, FA Cup final, 20 May 1989

At a time when Britain was mourning the 96 who lost their lives in the Hillsborough disaster, perhaps it was fitting the two Merseyside clubs contested the Final. And contest it they did, in one of Wembley’s most dramatic encounters. Liverpool took an early lead through John Aldridge and it was not until injury time that Stuart McCall equalised for the Toffees. Five minutes into extra time, Ian Rush retook the lead, only for McCall to level once more with a stunning volley. Rush and Liverpool had the last laugh though, and just as he did in the 1986 Merseyside derby final, he grabbed a second to give Liverpool their fourth FA Cup triumph.

7.  Manchester United 0-1 Manchester City, Old First Division, 27 April 1974

In United’s last game of the 1973–74 season, they needed to beat their city rivals at Old Trafford to stand any chance of remaining in the top flight. United legend Denis Law, now at City, scored an audacious back-heel to give City a 1–0 win. Thinking his goal had relegated United, he did not celebrate and walked off the pitch with his head down immediately after scoring. As it transpired, United would have been relegated even if the match had been drawn.

8. Arsenal 2-3 Tottenham, Premier League, 10 November 2010

Spurs staged a stunning fight-back to claim their first league victory over Arsenal in 17 years thanks in no part to their two outstanding performers, Welsh wonderkid Gareth Bale and Dutch maestro Rafael van der Vaart. The hosts were ahead 2-0 at the break, but Spurs had other ideas and when Bale reduced the arrears in the 50^th minute, the alarm bells began ringing in the Arsenal rearguard. Van der Vaart’s penalty levelled the game, before Younes Kaboul headed the Dutchman’s freekick past a shell-shocked Lukasz Fabianski with just five minutes remaining.

9. Newcastle 1-2 Sunderland, Premier League, 25 August 1999

Leave Alan Shearer out of a Tyne-Wear derby at your peril. This is what Ruud Gullit found out when he took charge of his final game for the Magpies. On a rainy night at St. James' Park, Newcastle took the lead through Kieron Dyer, but a second half comeback saw current Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn equalise. Kevin Phillips capped off the comeback to strike the final nail in Gullit's Toon coffin as the Dutch legend was sacked the next day.

10. Tottenham 4-5 Arsenal, Premier League, 13 November 2004

It was Martin Jol’s first Premiership game as Head Coach, and what a game it was. Despite Spurs taking the lead, they surrendered their advantage to a Thierry Henry effort on the stroke of half time. When Lauren’s penalty made it 1-2, Tottenham played catch-up for the remainder of this enthralling contest. Patrick Vieira made it 1-3, before Jermain Defoe reduced the deficit to 2-3. Freddie Ljungberg restored Arsenal’s two-goal advantage at 2-4, only for Ledley King to hit back at 3-4. Bobby Pires shimmied his way past Noe Pamarot, Paul Robinson and a match-day programme to make it 3-5 and Freddie Kanoute set up a grand-stand finish at 4-5 with two minutes left. Unfortunately for Spurs fans, there was no dramatic comeback this time.